Often we have heard about the blood of Jesus and even pray asking for the blood to cleanse us; but rarely do we ever understand the magnitude of this prayer or what exactly we are asking for. It is often a ritual that we perform or a ‘magic wand’ we use whenever we think we have sinned. In this chapter, we will see the actual truth about the blood of Jesus the Christ.
Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
We are right when we ask His blood to cleanse us. But what is the exact spiritual implication in this prayer? What is the importance attached to the blood of Jesus?
Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
We see that in order for sins to be forgiven, the prerequisite is shedding of blood. It is impossible to blot our transgressions unless blood is shed. God made this a mandate before the first human being sinned. Shedding of blood is associated with death. When a body is deprived of blood, it automatically dies. There can be no life without blood. Blood is the life in a body and bloodshed is the evidence that the body is dead. Since blood is life, the life of Jesus is His blood, therefore when He shed it, He gave His life for us. The blood of Jesus is the very life of Jesus the Christ Himself !!
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
As we mentioned before, the mandate given by God for forgiveness is death through bloodshed.
Genesis 2:15-17 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
The tree of knowledge of good and evil was in the garden of Eden but so was another tree, the tree of life, in the very midst of the garden. But man chose death over life. He chose the knowledge of good and evil and desired to become like God with the capacity to function in his own authority and self-willed independence and to gain self-righteousness. He did not desire or choose the tree of life and to derive his life from God Himself. The consequence of this was death of the body and soul which is separation from God. Therefore the price to pay for the sin of trusting Satan more than God was death. Let us consider this example to understand better. When we drive without a driving license and are pulled up by the policeman, we receive a fine. There is only one way to get rid of this fine and that is to pay it. No amount of crying, praying, begging or promise of future adherence to the law is going to remit our debt. Likewise, the price fixed for the sin of Adam was death and only death could be an atonement for it and nothing else. Death is both physical and spiritual, it is separation from God, because God is life and when we are far from His life, we die. When Adam chose the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we lost the tree of life and we died.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
During creation, death was not planned by God. Through Adam this price of separation from God and physical death passed on to us as well. So, for the remission of our sins, for our redemption and salvation, the price we need to pay is death. We need to die in order to pay for our sins. Instead of delivering us to death as penance for our sins, Jesus was offered as a perfect sacrifice to take our place. In the Old Testament, the priest had to sacrifice every day the atonement for sin which was not even enough. But Jesus once and for all paid the atonement on the cross. Jesus the Christ died on the cross, taking on Him the death, rejection and separation from God that we deserved. He took our place instead of us. The wrath of God because of sin that was our due was downloaded on Jesus as He came as an interceder between us and God. Once and for all He paid it in our place. From our above example, it is like a friend of ours paying the fine to the policeman when we cannot pay it ourselves.
Hebrews 10:11-14 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’).
Jesus became a sin and a curse on the cross in our place so that we do not have to die. Therefore ‘redemption’ as we have seen already is not a religious or pious term as we have understood it so far. It is a commercial term associated with transactions. It means “repayment of the principal amount of a debt or the act of purchasing back.” Back to our example, If we do not pay the fine to the policeman, we will end up in prison; but redemption through repayment will save us from the prison sentence. When we do pay the fine, we receive a receipt as a token of acknowledgement that the debt is cleared off our name. Not only did Jesus die and become sin and curse in our place and saved us from God’s wrath, but He also purchased us back to God and reconciled us to Him forever. The blood of Jesus the Christ is the proof of payment for our sins. It is an evidence testifying that the debt is already paid for and is valid in front of (1)
God - Whenever we go to His presence we claim the blood of Jesus which turns away the wrath of God and purifies us and makes us worthy.
Our conscience - Whenever our conscience reminds us of our sins, we can reassure ourselves and keep trusting that the price was paid and that despite our weaknesses, His blood is our hope and the one that perfects us.
Satan - Satan means accuser. He constantly plays mind games to always keep us guilt ridden so that we lose focus on the important fact. Whenever he accuses us for our sins, we can show Him the blood of Jesus and tell him that we no longer belong to him and he has no right whatsoever over us anymore as we have been redeemed back to God by Jesus.
The blood of Jesus is the testimony that our sins were paid for already and the cross is the testimony that the sinner died with Jesus, thereby becoming His slave. This is our only righteousness.
Romans 3:22–25 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.
We enter into God’s salvation through His mercy by the blood and continue in His grace. Our righteousness comes only through the blood of Jesus and nothing else. If this is the case, then on what basis do we approach the presence of Jesus the Christ? When we initially came into the experience of redemption or came to know Jesus and began our Christian journey, it was easy for us to accept that our sins have been forgiven through His blood. We knew that we were not redeemed by our works or efforts but it was purely because of His mercy and a favor we found in His eyes. Nevertheless, our sinful nature kept generating sin and because of religious beliefs, we assessed ourselves as failures and tried to control ourselves and lead a righteous life through our self-efforts. It was somehow inbred in us that we need to keep ourselves holy. Once we experience His mercy we think that His job is over and that we have to henceforth follow the ‘Christian rules’, continue in our efforts and works to sanctify ourselves and live the perfect Christian life. Consequently, we lead a disappointed life and in guilt as obviously we are not successful in these efforts. We fail to understand that just as redemption came through His blood, so does salvation as well, and forgiveness of our past, present and future sins is always on the same basis i.e., the blood of Jesus the Christ. Just as our initial approach to God was through trust in His blood, so should be our every approach, always. Right till the very end our only hope, trust and basis for approaching God and our righteousness will only be through His blood.
Let us consider some practical experiences to understand this better. When we have a bad day wherein, we may have lied to someone, lost patience with our children or snapped at our spouse, we assume that we have sinned or fallen short of God’s holiness and therefore decide that we are unfit to enter His presence that particular day. On another day, when things may have gone quite smoothly, where we could read the Bible and pray for enough time, have been patient with family etc. we think we can present ourselves before God. But sadly this is the deception we live in.
Leviticus 10:1-3 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.’” So Aaron held his peace.
Nadab and Abihu entered the presence Of God to worship Him. They burned the incense which was a commendable act. But why did God consider it as profane and strike them down? Is worshiping God evil enough to be killed by Him? No, the difference is the basis on which we approach to worship Him. If we go by trusting our incense i.e., good deeds and self-righteousness, then it is abominable in His sight. The only token that makes our entry and worship in His presence valid is the blood of Jesus. Anything else is not commanded by Him. How can anything other than His blood be holy and worthy enough to enter His presence? What can match up to His blood that can please Him?
Leviticus 16:1-3 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord, and died; and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. “Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.”
Therefore to enter God’s presence we must be holding fast to and trusting the blood of Jesus. We need to be clothed by Jesus the Christ Himself in order to be pleasing and presentable in His presence and this is the condition of His slave. A slave is one who is united and is one with Jesus Himself and this comes only through His blood which is our only righteousness.
Hebrews 10:19- 20 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we walk in the light as His slaves by trusting Him then His blood will purify us from all our sins. Nevertheless, we all need to get one basic fact right: the blood of Jesus is not a tool, a tool that can be ‘used’ and handled to attain certain purposes of ours. It is not a means to an end. If we approach it in this way, we are abusing the life of Jesus and the very cause of it. The blood was shed with all the pain and suffering to give us His life so that our souls can be saved. He did not give up His very life so that we can abuse and use His blood as a magical spell towards our situations, wants and desires.
1 Corinthians 11:27-30 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
Just because blood was shed by Jesus years ago it is not at our disposal to handle it free willingly or to be used whenever we please. The worthy manner to approach the blood of Jesus is to simply beg and cry for His mercy so that through His blood we will be eligible to receive and trust Him as our King and master and submit as slaves in order to be united with Him. This is the one and only purpose of the blood. Any other cause or purpose attached to it is a deception.
Exodus 24:3-8 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do.” And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”
Moses declares all the judgments of God to the people of Israel, and they with one accord give word to do all that the Lord has commanded. Then, Moses takes the blood and sprinkles on the altar and again reads to them the covenant, to which the Israelites reaffirm their promise to do and be obedient. Only after this, Moses sprinkles the blood on the people and pronounces the covenant on them. Unless the people declared their obedience and desire to stay in God’s covenant, the blood was not sprinkled on them. Here, we would like to explain what obedience actually is, as it is a commonly misunderstood concept.
Obedience is often considered as having to do everything that is written in the Bible without any hesitation. In this case, Satan, diseases, wind and waves would be ideal examples of obedience. Not once have any of the above creatures of God disobeyed His commands. If obedience involves us only having to merely keep doing whatever He says, we are no different from nature or evil forces. Rather, Jesus set the perfect example of obedience, where He obeyed the Father unto death on the cross. He did not blindly convince Himself into accepting or doing what God had kept for Him. He feared the separation that the cross with sin and curse was going to bring between Him and His Father. He clearly had a will and a desire different from that of the Father in the garden of Gethsemane. The attitude with which He approached His will was the one that set Him apart. He submitted His will to the will of the Father. It is easy to obey God when situations are pleasing to us. However, when we need to obey under unfavorable conditions, we do so as a mandate and out of fear of consequences. We never want to acknowledge the true state of our hearts in these conditions which most often is grudging or discontent. Though we have a different viewpoint or desire from God, we never want to address it with Him, rather, we try to hide it and still obey. It is of no use to obey a command with deeds or conduct and have a heart that is opposed to and in disagreement with it. God sees the heart and not the face. Jesus, though being God Himself, addressed His human heartfelt anxieties and concerns with the Father which made Him a perfect example of obedience.
We know an incident when God and Satan had a conversation about Job. God considered Job as blameless and upright but Satan argued vehemently and challenged God’s own judgement. God then granted him the permission to interfere in Job’s life. Here, Satan was clearly under God’s authority and obeyed God’s command. Nevertheless, He had a different opinion from that of God’s and he approached it with arrogance and a challenging and rebellious nature. Physically he did obey but his heart was never in tune with God or submissive to Him.
In the New Testament, the Greek word translated as ‘obey’ is ‘hupakouo’ that literally means “to hear under, to listen attentively.” It simply explains that we need to go to God with our desires and will, though they are different from His’ and submit them to Him. This attitude is the one that showed the clear contrast between Jesus and Satan.
We may not find God’s commands always pleasing enough to obey with a whole heart, but we need to acknowledge it and present it to God like Jesus. We need to explain our apprehension but acknowledge that “it is not my will but your will be done.” This explains our desire to obey as well as our transparency about our attitude which is the truth. Instead, like Satan, if we obey with a double face, we are simply serpents and brood of vipers like the Pharisees, which is of no use, no matter how big the sacrifice was make in order to obey.
Therefore, in the above mentioned verse, God does not refer to the legalistic obedience but speaks about the condition of our hearts which will decide the establishment of the new covenant between us and God through the blood of Jesus.
To conclude, without our desire and commitment to trust Jesus as our King and abandon ourselves into His hands as a slave to a master, the blood of Jesus i.e., His very life will have no role in our lives. Without the blood of Jesus we have no righteousness and stand nowhere with God and hold no rights to approach Him.